Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Ādi 17.281
The mystery of the gopīs’ ecstatic feelings
“Once Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa playfully manifested Himself as Nārāyaṇa, with four victorious hands and a very beautiful form. When the gopīs saw this exalted form, however, their ecstatic feelings were crippled. Even a learned scholar, therefore, cannot understand the gopīs’ ecstatic feelings, which are firmly fixed upon the original form of Lord Kṛṣṇa as the son of Nanda Mahārāja. The wonderful feelings of the gopīs in ecstatic parama-rasa with Kṛṣṇa constitute the greatest mystery in spiritual life.”
What the purport teaches
- Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa playfully manifested Himself as Nārāyaṇa, with four victorious hands and a very beautiful form. Seeing this form, the gopīs’ ecstatic feelings were crippled.
- Their ecstatic feelings are firmly fixed upon the original form of Lord Kṛṣṇa as the son of Nanda Mahārāja. Even a learned scholar cannot understand these feelings.
- Their ecstatic parama-rasa with Kṛṣṇa constitutes the greatest mystery in spiritual life. The purport identifies this passage as a quotation from Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Lalita-mādhava.
Try this today
Reread the description of the gopīs’ feelings, acknowledging that this spiritual mystery exceeds scholarly understanding.
Ask yourself
How does the limit of scholarly understanding encourage humility in my study?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport; the practice and question are plain words for trying the verse today.